This invention relates to apparatus for crushing cans and more particularily to manually operated apparatus for crushing cans which is adapted for support on a garbage container.
Due to rising energy costs and material shortages, the recycling of materials has become increasingly important. The recycling of aluminum cans, particularly beverage containers, has become standard practice with permanent facilities provided for receiving and processing the returned cans. For a trip to a recycling plant to be economically attractive to an individual, he should have a fairly large quantity, for example 100 pounds, of cans to be recycled. For such a large quantity of cans to be transported in a reasonable volume, such as the trunk of a car, the cans must be crushed or flattened to reduce the volume as much as possible. Once the cans have been flattened and the effective density thereby increased, a fairly sturdy container for carrying the cans such as a common steel garbage can is required.
While numerous methods have been used for flattening cans such as beating with a hammer, stepping on the cans, or running over them with a car, it can be seen that a simple manual can crusher would be desireable. In addition, it would be desireable to provide a manual can crusher adapted for use in conjunction with a storage container, such as a common garbage can for storing the crushed cans prior to recycling.